


Stars in Her Hair

by WriterGirl1198



Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, F/M, John Winchester's A+ Parenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27930496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterGirl1198/pseuds/WriterGirl1198
Summary: John Winchester may have raised his two boys to be hunters of the supernatural, but that was never the life that he wanted for his only daughter. So even though Delilah grows up surrounded by her father's one-man war on the supernatural, she was never allowed to take part in it. Of course, when John goes missing, everything changes, and it is up to all three of his children to find him. With help from her brothers (and her brother Sam's badass girlfriend), Delilah must begin the process of forging herself into a warrior strong enough to survive whatever the supernatural can throw at her. Because if there is one truth that Delilah knows, it is that she is a Winchester, and the world most definitely has it out for her family.
Relationships: Matt Murdock/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	Stars in Her Hair

**Author's Note:**

> In the spirit of fair warning, I am going to be changing a little bit of the dæmon lore in this story to suit my own purposes. Mostly because it makes my life So. Much. Easier, but also because I am The Author, and I do what I want! So anyway, dæmons in this AU, both settled and unsettled, possess what I am calling "evaporating skills," mostly because I got the idea from the Chesire Cat of 'Alice in Wonderland' fame. In other words, dæmons now have the ability to turn themselves invisible and take on a form that takes up no physical space. *Cue Mickey Mouse voice* This is a surprise tool that will help us later! Thank you for coming to my TEDtalk.

They say  
Look how she goes  
She gave herself away  
A desert rose  
What a delusional run-away  
Got stars in her hair, walks on the moon  
It's a moonlight mirage, but we see right through  
Look how she goes

"Three Birds in Babylon" - The Gray Havens

* * *

Dean Winchester is born on January 24, 1979, at three o'clock in the afternoon. His dæmon forms shortly thereafter, taking the initial form of a wolf pup, mimicking Dean's mother's dæmon - Duncan - a strong, lean timber wolf. John's dæmon, a cougar named Stella, names the baby's dæmon Alexandria, though as Dean gets older, everyone shortens this to Sasha. This is the only time Sasha ever takes the form of a wolf; she idolizes Stella and usually takes the form of some large cat or other.

Four years later, Dean's little brother Sam is born early in the morning on the second day of May. His father is startled when his dæmon forms as a raven chick, since no one in their family has a bird dæmon. John knows the lore about raven dæmons, after all, and how in the old days they were almost all connected to witches. But Mary Winchester just looks at her newborn son's dæmon with a small, almost sad smile on her face as she tells her husband that ravens and wolves have been companions for as long as anyone can remember - the ravens follow the wolves, and the wolves protect the ravens. John is somewhat appeased by his wife's words, and with this in mind, Duncan gives this new dæmon in their family the name Morrigan, named for an ancient raven goddess in faraway Ireland. Like Sasha, Morrigan's name is soon shortened to Rory, and after the first time she changes form, she never again takes the form of a raven. In fact, Rory can usually be found tripping over her paws as a big cat, always wanting to be so much like Sasha.

You likely know the rest of the story as told by my Father, but in case you don't their mother - Mary - is burned alive on the ceiling of Sam's nursery six months after he is born, and Duncan turns to Dust before John's eyes. John hands baby Sam to Dean and tells him to take his brother outside as fast as he can and _don't look back, now, Dean, go!_ In the terror and confusion of the fire, , Sam's dæmon turns into a tiny lion cub, and Sasha instinctively takes the form of a full-grown lioness, scooping Rory up in her jaws as they follow their humans out of the burning house. Sasha never again takes another form. When John and Stella emerge from the wreckage of their home, they are broken and defeated. Stella is covered in burns. They take John's sons and their dæmons and leave town, heading out on a never-ending road trip, hell-bent on avenging Mary and Duncan, the loves of their life.

Somewhere along the way, unbeknownst to his sons, John has another kid, a boy named Adam Milligan, born on September 29, 1990. Adam and his dæmon are a constant source of confusion to his mother from the beginning. Ashelita, who early on is given the nickname Asha, is so much like Adam's father's dæmon sometimes that Kate just wants to cry. Still, the nurse and her golden retriever dæmon Julian keep that to themselves until Adam is about to turn twelve years old, standing in front of his mother and begging with tears in his eyes to meet his father.

No matter what happens in the flow of time, these three dates of birth are universal constants, known and accepted truths that have shaped the events of the world since a Voice first spoke into the Darkness and said, "Let there be light." These dates are far from the only universal constants in this story, and there is, in fact, another date that is very, very important to the fate of the universe. But hold up a sec; I'm getting ahead of myself.

So, backing up. Long ago it was decreed that Dean and Sam Winchester would be the true vessels for the two eldest archangels, Michael and Lucifer. This is another one of those universal constant things. Because of that, some people tend to think that Adam Milligan was some sort of accident, a mistake in the writing that messed up the story my Dad wanted to tell. But Michael and Lucifer aren't the only archangels, are they?

You see, Adam always knew as a kid that he wanted to be like his mom and save lives. Every single thing he did in life was calculated and precise, acted upon with one goal in mind: to get into medical school and become a doctor. Adam was never supposed to become some sort of shoddy substitute vessel for Michael. Adam Milligan was meant for the third archangel: Raphael, the angel of healing.

Of course, that leaves one more archangel, right? Gabriel, the messenger of God. If things are left as they are, he ends up with the short end of the stick and no Winchester to be his true vessel. Or does he? You remember that fourth date I was telling you about? That date that was going to be astronomically important to the fate of the whole universe? Well, that date is October 11, 1988, at approximately 11:59 at night.

* * *

Shortly after midnight on Thursday, October 12, 1988, a tall, dark-haired man burst into the maternity ward of the hospital in Natchez, Mississippi, his cougar dæmon trailing behind him. Despite his slightly-crazed appearance, pretty much every red-blooded female in that wing stopped for a split-second to observe how attractive he was before going about their business. He skidded to a stop at the nurse's desk and blurted out, "Winchester, we're John Winchester and Stella. I'm here for Hannah Kennedy and Oberon?"

The nurse on duty, whose I.D. badge stated her name as "Darla," eyed him with sympathy as her dæmon - a little white dog - whimpered in her lap. "Are you the father?" At his breathless nod, she winced, double-checking her charts. "Mr. Winchester, I'm afraid I have some bad news."

John blinked once, twice, then shook his head, his heart sinking as Stella's tail began twitching in agitation. "I... I don't... What happened?"

"Miss Kennedy gave birth at 11:59 last night," Darla told him hesitantly. "The baby is perfectly healthy. Miss Kennedy, however... I'm afraid she passed out after the birth and never regained consciousness. Her dæmon, Oberon, named not only the newborn's dæmon, but the child as well. Sadly, not long after, Miss Kennedy's heart stopped, and Oberon turned to Dust. I'm so sorry."

John's words failed him, and his knees started to buckle until Stella stepped to his side, leaning heavily against his legs as if to hold him upright. "Where is the child?" the cougar dæmon asked.

Darla appeared startled at being addressed so directly by someone else's dæmon, but she rallied quickly, checking her charts again. "The baby is in the nursery," she told John and Stella. "Go straight through those doors and take a left at the end of hall. It's got a giant glass window, and it's full of babies and their dæmons. You can't miss it."

"Thank you," John said, still feeling numb, and followed the prompting of his dæmon as she nudged him in the right direction.

"Come on, John," she murmured to him, her words a low, rumbling purr in her chest. "Keep moving. It's a shame about Hannah and Oberon, but at least you still have the child."

"She was alone," he responded, guilt weighing heavily in his words. "She was alone here, and probably scared, because of me. It's my fault she was in this fix."

"Hey," Stella growled, "snap out of it. You didn't make her family drop her like a hot potato, now did you? Anyway, you can't do anything for her. She's gone, much as we hate it. We gotta focus on our kid."

John nodded, coming to a halt as they reached the nursery window. He searched through the beds and name tags for a baby with the last name Delaney but was startled to instead find a crib containing a baby girl with a name tag that read "Delilah Bryn Moira Winchester and Gideon." The child was unmistakably his and Hannah's daughter, because beside her crib rested her dæmon, a pure white unicorn foal. John had to clear his throat when he realized that his child's dæmon - Gideon - was mimicking Oberon, who had been a rare black unicorn dæmon.

"A daughter," he said, his throat closing with some unnamed emotion as panic began to creep into his bones. "Stella, what the hell are we going to do with a daughter?"

* * *

John talked to his daughter's primary care physician as soon as he got into work that morning, making sure that Hannah had listed him as their daughter's only next of kin and therefore her legal guardian. He and Stella briefly left the hospital, heading to the nearest Wal-Mart to stock up on baby supplies, including clothes, formula, and a car seat to fit in the Impala. As soon as he returned to the hospital, the doctor gave baby Delilah one final checkup before releasing her into her father's care. Gideon changed instinctively into a smaller form, a cougar cub to mimic Stella, and jumped in next to his human, curling up beside Delilah's car seat as John carefully fastened her in. Stella also climbed into the back of the Impala, settling into the floorboard to better keep an eye on the baby girl and her dæmon.

"All right," John said as he slid into the driver's seat. "Everyone ready?"

"Ready, John," Stella replied, baring her teeth in a grin.

"Sixteen hour road trip with a newborn, here we come," John breathed with a sigh. This was going to be a long drive.

* * *

The Winchester Impala rolled into Singer Auto Salvage in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, early on the morning of the thirteenth. Two little boys came tumbling out of the house towards the Impala, their dæmons in tow, stopping just short of actually running to their father. Silently, John got out of his car and opened the back door, carefully removing the baby girl from her car seat.

"Dad," Dean said carefully, "what's going on?"

"You've got a little sister, now, boys," John told his sons gruffly, depositing the baby girl into the arms of his oldest son. "Her name's Delilah."

As John went to retrieve the new baby things from the trunk of the car to take them inside, Stella stalking after him, Dean carefully sat down on the steps of Bobby's house, staring down at the baby girl in his arms. Her dæmon, who was still in the form of a cougar cub, changed form slightly to a lion cub to mimic Sasha, who immediately turned to grooming the new young dæmon.

"She's so tiny," Sam uttered in awe, transfixed by the little girl. "I've never seen anybody that small."

Dean snorted. "You were this small, kid. So was I, probably. She's just the right size."

Sam ignored this revelation in favor of getting a closer look at his sister. "What are we supposed to do with her?"

Dean shrugged slightly, not wanting to disturb the currently-happy baby. "We look after her. Always. She's ours to protect now, Sammy."

Resolve crossed over Sam's face, and he nodded fiercely. "Ours."

"Our little Della," Dean whispered, pressing a kiss to his sister's forehead.

* * *

Thus was the true vessel of the archangel Gabriel born into this world. Delilah Winchester doesn't necessarily have the easiest life, but it's not too bad either. She might not grow up with the most present or even loving father, but she does have a Dean and a Sam and even sometimes a Bobby to look after her. And even though no one can really see him, her guardian archangel is always nearby, listening for her prayers. Together, they all make sure that she grows up strong, if not necessarily big, and fully ready to take on the world. And boy, is the world something that she really needs to be ready for.


End file.
